Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said Wednesday that the young calf's best chance for survival depends on residents keeping their distance.

According to the Summit Daily, the calf appears to have a broken or dislocated rear leg. It was spotted Sunday with its mother near the Blue River in Silverthorne.

"Wild animals, especially moose, are pretty tough and they can recover from some pretty intense injuries," CPW district wildlife manager Elissa Knox told the newspaper. "However, if it gets stressed or pushed out of the area by people and dogs getting too close, that’s only going to aggravate the injury."

Officials say the animal is eating, drinking and there does not seem to be any internal injuries or external trauma.

However, residents who have found the injured moose question why CPW officials aren’t doing anything to help it.

"I talked to a (Parks and Wildlife) person that was there when I saw the poor little thing and she said there’s nothing that can be done,” Joan Anderson told the paper. "Really? I just don’t believe that."